The pathogenesis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two
major forms of inflammatory bowel disease, involves a complex interplay
between certain genetic, environmental and immunological factors.

Considerable
research progress in the last decade defined key inflammatory pathways
in the inflamed gut and identified new potential therapeutic targets.

Since
the current medical treatment with corticosteroids and anti-inflammatory
drugs is often associated with undesired side effects and cannot completely
cure IBD, these current advances in our understanding of intestinal pathology
may now allow the development of new biologic treatment strategies including
gene therapy.

In this review, we will give a brief overview of potential
gene therapy target molecules related to chronic intestinal inflammation.